If you were to ask the average person to give a short description of golf, I’m sure they might say things like country club, sedate, slow, boring, difficult, time consuming or any number of other similar phrases. What I’m guessing you would probably not hear are rules controversy, doping scandal or gambling problem. Yet recently …

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For anyone who has ever seen me putt, you would probably agree that my putting is inconsistent at best.  I usually run the gamut from days when my putting is mediocre to days when it is downright ugly.  If American Idol had a reality show where amateurs compete to be the best putter in the country, I would be …

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An often prevailing opinion of Arrowhead Golf Course in Clarence, NY is that it is too difficult or too penal for the average golfer. Too much heather or too many sand traps or too much slope on the greens are comments that follow the assessment by some local players. Well,in the past two years, I …

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Now that February is in the books, I admit to being a bit relieved. Let me explain. At the end of 2012, I (like many others in the WNY golf community) had played 22 consecutive months of golf in the Buffalo area. Like many of my fellow hackers, I was hoping that the streak would …

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Rory’s gone in one; so is Tiger.  Ricky Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood  and Keegan Bradley had  their work week shortened considerably.  Ernie Eels, Bill Haas, Adam Scott and Jason Dufner are other names added to the one and done first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship. These players all have one thing in …

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Who exactly is Charlie Beljan? I must admit that prior to this past weekend’s Northern Trust Open, I knew next to nothing about Charlie Beljan. Sure, I remember hearing about him at the Disney tournament at the end of last year where he fainted after his third round due to extreme anxiety, spent the night …

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As I was watching Tiger Woods’ post victory press conference at Torry Pines recently, I couldn’t help but think about the dynamics of what was really going on in that press tent. On its face, it was a typical press conference.  Reporters were asking questions and the interviewee was answering them.  But, with Tiger, nothing …

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With a white blanket of snow on the ground and temperatures better suited to ice fishing than golf, this is a time made for thinking about golf rather than actual playing. So, that’s what I’ve been doing lately. Thinking about golf.

This past weekend I played golf for the 22nd consecutive month in WNY.  That’s right.  Almost two straight years of playing golf in an area that is primarily known for chicken wings, losing football teams and snow…lots of snow. But now, as I look at the upcoming weather forecast, it looks like, sadly, that this …

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Now that the 2012 golf season is officially over (I think), it is time to do a look-back at the year that was.  It was surely an interesting year on both  the male and female side of the ledger, but, not surprisingly, the year was dominated once again by the Ryder Cup.  So as we …

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By nature I am as far removed from snobbery as possible and I historically associate with the underdog.   I root for the servants in Downton Abbey and I still get misty-eyed every time Rudy takes the field in the waning seconds of his last game as a walk-on football player at Notre Dame.

It is cold, windy and raining outside as I sit at my computer typing in this article. But, the adverse weather somehow doesn’t faze me in the least. And why is that, one might ask? The only answer I can give is that October of 2012 marks the 20th consecutive month that I have played …

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I’m sure that everyone is familiar with the old saying ‘Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.’  Man, oh man, did I get bit big time on Sunday I had just finished playing golf on Sunday and as I was driving home, I started to think that it would be nice for …

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I think it’s safe to say that golf is one difficult game.  Even though we love to play golf , it is hard to not get caught up in its frustrations from time to time.  For some it may even be that constant challenge that keeps them coming back, but, for others it is often …

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This past weekend (8/18&19), I had the wonderful privilege of competing in my third member/guest at my local club.  My guest, as it has been for the three years that I have played in it, was my son.  My son is a once or twice a year golfer, so we always enter with limited expectations.  But, …

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